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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Day 6- A little less puffy. My right side is almost completely back to normal, but my left side still has a bit of a bulge. Toly has now given me the nickname “cheeks” which I can’t say I’m too fond of, but I guess it’s fitting.Today, over my lunch (which was leftover tuna salad), I read a very intriguing article on the latest diet craze in LA. It’s called, Healthy Detoxing. Basically, these LA girls state that it’s out of date to consider “dieting” anymore. People get annoyed when you say you are on a diet, so now it’s all about cleansing your body, clean eating, and detoxing. Some of the diets (eh’hem, I mean healthy eating habits) included liquid nourishing where one soley consumes foods and nutrients through liquids (juices/smoothies..etc.) Another one was the Raw Diet, which has been extremely populated in the past year, especially in the blogworld.

Okay first, the liquid diet. While there are many many health benefits that are derived from nutrition packed juices and smoothies, the danger with this is that women are using these as their ONLY form of food intake. This can cause a huge imbalance in electrolytes and eventually wear away at the crucial digestive functions of the intestines. So, drinking your nutrition is good, but should not be your entire diet. No matter how many fruits, veggies, powders, vitamins, proteins, etc. you are packing into these smoothies, there are still vital elements that are being lost when you aren’t consuming solid foods.

The Raw Diet was very interesting to read about because I’ve been trying to do more and more research on this way of life. The article followed one woman who decided to start this way of eating. She said, for the first 5 months, she felt great and loved it. Well, after awhile, she started getting very sick; lethargic, constant stomach pains, and eventually led to 3 massive seizures that almost stopped her heart. The doctors said that she had developed an imbalance of too much water in her blood and caused a significant imbalance of electrolytes throughout her body. They attributed this to her recent diet change. The women mentioned that eating strictly raw is entirely possible for some people and many have made it work healthfully for years. She now follows a 40-60 diet, that is 40% raw and 60% whole foods.

So basically, these LA women are finding a more socially-acceptable way of mal-nourishment by saying I am cleansing! I have to admit, with all of the persistent and mainstream diets that seem to pop up; some of them do strike my interest. I find myself wanting to learn more and incorporate more of their rudiments into my own diet. Veganism, Rawism, Gluten-free, Holistic, they all have elements that are entirely beneficial for the mind and body.

For me, I have found that following one type of diet to its extreme is not what works best for my body. There are no specific health restrictions or personal sentiments that would cause me to follow an orthodox way of eating. I still and will always maintain my mentality of balanced/healthy eating. For me, this includes whole grains, natural foods, mainly fruits and vegetables, proteins chiefly from grains, beans, soy, dairy and fish with the incorporation of little poultry, no red meat, and healthy fats. (I like to use the word Quasi-tarrian if I had to choose one that would best describe it) I feel that I pull aspects from different diets into my everyday eating and find that if I maintain a balance of these, my body is at its best!

So, ultimately, it’s all about doing what is best for you. It’s so difficult to become quickly influenced by others’ conventional customs; however, it’s vital to remember that these girls are doing/eating/living/believing these things because they have found that it is best for them! If there is one thing I’ve learned through all my years, it’s that the basic commandments of health are simple; everything else is relative and a matter of personal affirmation. In everything, try to remember to stay true to yourself. Strive for happiness not for perfection. Be selfish at times and form your values based on your own experiences, beliefs and standards.~”Envy is a waste of time. You already have everything you need!”

Okay sorry for that lengthy debate, I just found that I had a lot to say on this topic.

Now on to the food part of this blog, dinner creation! Guess what tonight was? If you’ve been reading me at all, you have to know by now that Wednesdays only mean one thing for us- BFD!!!!

I promised Toly frittatas tonight since I wasn’t in the mood to make them last week. Frittatas just seem so summery. I’m not really sure why because they are really just a fancy omelet, but regardless, they are his favorite.

It sounds quite fancy, but actually very easy. That’s the key to being a good chef. You must make things look and sound more intricate than they really are. Food actually tastes better when it looks pretty and has a fancy-schmancy name. Trust me on this! ;)

10 comments:

Your cheeks are looking MUCH better! Glad to hear you're getting there with the healing process! Ahhh crazy diets. I think going raw can have a lot of great benefits. The whole idea of a liquid diet is just craziness. Great dinner! I bet you can't wait to eat something real hard/solid!

I love your view on food! I think pulling aspects of all diets together will give you the most balanced and well rounded nutrition. All those crazy diets just seem like so much WORK! Eating whole foods just feels right!

Aw, I'm so sorry to hear you had an awful surgery/recovery. Your cheeks look pretty good now, but I backtracked and read your other posts. You had quite the rough time <3 Surgery is no fun, is it?

I really liked reading your thoughts on these "diets." I agree--it's really just about doing what's best for you, but I find it hard to believe that such an extreme diet plan could be the best thing for anyone!

Oh man, I can't imagine an all liquid diet! When I had my wisdom teeth removed, like you, I couldn't stand not having some kind of solids. I hope this doesn't sound pretentious, but I think if someone doesn't mind being on an all liquid diet... they must've never had a good solid meal! All these "quick fixes". Why can't people just look into a healthy lifestyle with moderation and not these unhealthy extremes?

Also, an interesting point someone made to me once:detoxing usually causes a depletion in the body, don't we want to do everything we can to support it? That's the main reason I personally don't agree with "detox" diets.

Hey there! I actually posted on the article this week too: http://www.choosingraw.com/being-wary-of-a-detox/

I think it's important to note that the woman who was following the raw diet was making the grievous mistake of over-hydration -- something which anyone who has studied raw foods even cursorily will know NOT to do, since the foods themselves are hydrating. Also, the article never mentioned how much or what she was eating in addition to the fact that she was drinking far too much water, which is of course an oversight. Any form of eating: SAD, omni, vegan, raw -- can be abused when done recklessly.